Owlet
by Syberian
Summary: As with any relationship, Zer0 and Athena have many stories to tell about theirs. [Zer0/Athena][Short story collection][HIATUS]
1. Traveler

"Nice rifle."

Zer0 didn't have to turn around to see who was approaching him. He kept his gaze on the Vladof sniper rifle lying across his lap, peering at it with a calculating eye to find any scratches or dents along its surface. Aside from the muzzle having a bit of wear, the gun was spotless. It made for a nice change from the grimy, dirty, or bloodied gear he usually came across.

A wobbly hand grasped his shoulder as Athena eased herself to the ground. The sight of dirt and dust caking her clothing elicited a snort from him, which received an icy glare."Something you'd like to say?"

A ':)' flashed on his helmet. "You still look gorgeous."

The glare melted into warmth and she grinned. She looked away, cleared her throat, and lifted and offered her hand to him. Without hesitation, he entwined their fingers and gave her a reassuring squeeze. Athena inhaled deeply, closed her eyes, and leaned over to rest her head against his upper arm.

Zer0 tucked a few loose strands of hair behind her ear. "Are you tired, Athena?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" She opened an eye and looked up at him. "We just killed a _Vault Monster_." She grinned at him. "And got some nice loot."

Zer0 cracked a smile and caressed her cheek with his thumb, listening to her hum in content. Carefully, he set the sniper rifle to his side and pulled Athena into his lap. She raised an eyebrow at him, but nonetheless reached up and cupped the sides of his faceplate, brushing her thumb over where his lips would be. The fingers of her other hand drifted down and fiddled with the clasps of his mask, popping one open before closing it and continuing on with the next one. She looked up at him, her eyes asking for permission. With a short nod, each clasp was popped open, allowing her to pull the mask off his head.

The first breath of air both refreshed and stung Zer0's lungs, but the next was easier. He felt Athena's eyes on him as he inhaled and exhaled deeply a few times, chest expanding greatly. She shifted in his lap until she effectively straddled him, and ran her suddenly ungloved hands up the side of his face and into his hair. Athena leaned forward and kissed the corner of his mouth.

"Someone's being sweet," he pointed out.

Athena smiled and kissed the other corner. "We _did_ just kill a Vault Monster." She leaned away to touch foreheads with him. "I like reminding myself that we survived."

The response didn't take him by surprise, and he grinned at him. "By all means, 'Thena. Remind us _both_ we're alive."

As soon as the words escaped his mouth, her lips slotted over his. The hands in his hair curled into fists and pulled him closer. Humming against the soft feel of her lips, he pulled her close and kissed her jawline, trailing kiss after kiss until he reached her ear.

"Is this proof enough?" Zer0 murmured, kneading the small of her back with his fingers.

He felt her shiver against him, and her eyes squeezed shut. He seized the opportunity, recapturing her lips in a passionate kiss. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer. The whine that escaped her throat as he pulled away made him chuckle before he leaned back in and kissed her neck. The moan that escaped her throat was music to his ears. He trailed up and down the column of her throat, nipping and brushing the tip of his tongue over the warm flesh. It wasn't until her hands dragged him back up to her mouth he finally stopped. She kissed him languidly and leaned away, eyes half closed.

"Zer0-"

" _Athena! Zer0!_ "

In an instant, they tore away from each other. Zer0 pulled his mask over his head and pushed the clasps in place, sniper rifle appearing back in his hands seconds later. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Athena had digi-structed a shotgun in her hands and was giving it an thorough, but undeniably distracted and irritated, onceover.

Vaughn trudged up the dirt path leading to them. He placed his hands on his hips, tilted his head back, and inhaled and exhaled deeply a few times.

"That... was _quite_... a walk," he gasped out.

"This _is_ a cliff," Athena pointed out without lifting her gaze from her weapon.

"Yeah, but _really_? The highest point, you two?" Vaughn complained.

"What's the phrase you use?" Zer0 asked with slight tease in his voice. "'Go big or go home', correct?"

Vaughn rolled his eyes. "Oh, haha. Hilarious."

Zer0 smiled cheekily under his mask. From his peripheral vision, he could see an amused, but still annoyed grin from Athena, hidden partially by her hooded scarf. Vaughn cleared his throat and walked closer to the cliff's edge, peering into the canyon below.

"Wow," he whispered. "They really do look like ants down there."

There was something strange in his voice; a reluctance or unwillingness to speak about something. Even without needing to see his face, Zer0 could hear it loud and clear, and he was certain that Athena could as well. Without turning his head, he looked at her and noticed the suspicion morphing on her face; her eyes narrowed and brow wrinkled.

"Why are you here?"

Vaughn looked down at her, surprised look on his face as if he didn't expect the question- _or_ to be figured out. He watched her for a few seconds, almost as if he expected her to explain, before looking down at his feet and backing away from the cliff's edge. He rubbed the back of his neck and cleared his throat.

"Observant as always, Athena," he complimented, a guttural laugh resounding from him. "I was hoping you two would join the celebration party later."

Zer0 looked up from his rifle and a '?' flashed on his mask. Athena herself had a confused look on her face as she did the same.

"A what?"

"The celebration party!" Any hints of hesitation or reluctance evaporated as Vaughn stood confidently beside them. "I'm throwing one to celebrate you guys killing the Traveler." He leaned forward, smiling widely. "What do you say? Join us?"

Athena turned her back towards him, an anticipatory look that practically begged for support or an answer.

Zer0 shrugged.

She sighed and turned back to Vaughn. "We aren't really ones for parties. Sorry, Vaughn."

The smile on his face fell. He looked sad at her response and nodded. Turning away, he began making his way back down the cliff, before stopping abruptly at the entrance to the path.

"Cassius and I got the latte machine working, by the way."

Athena immediately sat straight up and stared at him, eyes wide in shock and interest. For some reason, Zer0 felt like he could _hear_ the short man smirking in his next statement.

"And all of the Children of Helios are on a no-caffeine diet."

Vaughn briskly walked away, leaving an echo of his words in the air. Athena turned towards him, eyebrows raising and smile gradually growing larger on her face. Zer0 knew it was no use in arguing about it, so he sighed and nodded.

"All right, Athena."

* * *

As with any social gathering, Zer0 stayed on the outskirts of the group, observing the party goers with a somewhat curious gaze. Most surrounded the Traveler's corpse, taking pictures or scavenging for any leftover gear amongst its picked body. The rest were loitering about in cliques or pairs, continuing to avidly discuss what had happened earlier that day.

Perhaps the most odd circle was that of Claptrap, Loader Bot, and Gortys. First seeing such a peculiar group made him look a second time to confirm that his eyes weren't playing tricks on him. The three robots were there, and they were talking about something. Even from his distance away from them, he could hear Claptrap blabbering on something that he paid no attention or thought to. For a moment, he considered ignoring them, but the way Gortys's face lit up as she finally saw him changed his mind.

"Oh, Zer0!" Gortys called. "Have you seen Rhys or Fiona?"

A '?' flashed on his helmet as he heard this. He walked over and asked, "Why? Are they missing?"

"We have not seen them since the Traveler was killed," Loader Bot explained.

He raised an eyebrow.

"Who-da-who?" Claptrap interrupted.

If robots could glare, then Gortys would be now. "Rhys and Fiona!" She started to wring her hands if you could even call them _hands_ worriedly. "They've been gone for hours."

"Perhaps they got lost?" Loader Bot suggested.

"Knowing Rhys, I wouldn't be surprised if he _did_ get lost."

Zer0 turned around to see Sasha standing there, arm in a pink sling and hand on her hip. She had a playful, but anticipatory smirk.

"Fi will look after him."

The confidence in her voice was enough to make Gortys perk up, which in turn made Loader Bot content. The only one who did not seem pleased with the information was Claptrap, who still looked befuddled over the short exchange.

There was a pull on his elbow, and he turned to see that Sasha was still there, looking up at him with a slight anxious look on her face, expressing her own worriment about her sister's apparent disappearance. Then it vanished, replaced with the mask of confidence she always seemed to carry.

"Your girlfriend managed to con the latte machine outta Vaughn."

Zer0 smiled and chuckled at this information. "Do you know where she might be? I haven't seen her."

"Oh, yeah. I know." She smirked and looked behind him.

He smiled knowingly and preserved a facade of confusion, not letting on that he'd caught Sasha's hint. He attuned his hearing to listen at what was going on behind his back. The sound of voices was difficult to block out, but the light, almost inaudible sound of footsteps crunching gravel let him turn around and pull Athena in for a hug. He heard her yelp, clearly catching her off guard. Her arms went around him a moment later, squeezing him so tightly that his chest ached.

"Damn," she muttered, "so close." She loosened her grip on him and leaned away to look up at his mask. "Ready to go home?"

"Whenever you are," he answered.

"Hey, lovebirds?" Sasha said, getting their attention. "Vaughn's got a bike ready for you in the garage."

Athena raised an eyebrow. "And where is th-"

"Take a left, go past three corridors, and take the next right. It'll be at the end of the hall."

Vaughn approached them, arms crossed and smiling. The only thing that caught Zer0's attention was the brand new, shiny Pangolin shield clipped onto his belt, not there when he originally came to them atop the cliff before the party began.

"It's got enough fuel to get you to the Fast Travel station and back."

Zer0 nodded, already forgotten most of the information told. "Thank you."

"Anytime," Sasha replied.

Athena grumbled something under her breath- something he couldn't quite hear- and said, "Call if you need me."

She untangled from his arms and walked away, looking behind her shoulder to see if he was following. Quickly, Zer0 chased after her, eager and anticipating returning home.

 **(A/N): Requested by Rook435. Beta'd by CGAdam. Basically, this is a collection of short stories I've written over the past year and any ones I write in the future. Because I enjoy reading and writing stories filled with ooey-gooey "fluff", many of the ones on here will mostly contain it. With that out of the way, I hope you enjoy.**


	2. Beach

Calm, placid waves crashed along the sandy shores, running up to Zer0's toes and sinking his feet further into the sand. The smell of salt overwhelmed his noise as the wind picked up and blew through his hair, sending a small relief onto his burning face. The heat returned soon afterwards as the blazing hot sun continued to beat down on his bare shoulders; sweat pooled on his forehead, palms, neck. It was almost too much, but made no difference to him as he paused to stare at the luscious green scenery to his right, gazing into a jungle with a curious and challenging glint in his peculiarly colored eyes.

"Z, you comin'?"

Zer0 stuffed his hands into his pockets and continued to stroll towards his wife, picking up his pace. The sight of her sunburnt shoulders and face elicited a chuckle from him. The scowl on her face quickly ended it, though.

Athena didn't slow down or quicken her walk as they continued down the strip of beach they had rented out for the week. Sand beneath their toes, cold waters cooling their heated bodies, and the caw of exotic creatures that they, especially he, were certain that not even Hammerlock had documented yet, filled their days as their getaway soon reached its final days.

In all honesty, Zer0 wasn't positive if he felt disappointed or gratitude about it. Yes, the week long vacation had been more than relaxing, but the itch for action was calling for him, and had been since yesterday. Athena had taken notice of it, and would often reassure him that they would be home _soon_. All he needed to do was wait.

The brush of skin against his own stirred him from his thoughts, and he looked down to see that Athena was holding her hand out to him. Without hesitating, he pulled his hand out of his pocket and clutched her hand in his own, entwining their hands in a way that all his fingers fit perfectly between hers. There was a gentle swing in their arms as they strolled down the shore, pausing every once in awhile to soak up the sun and bury their feet in the cold, wet sand.

The sight of a small grove of palm trees caused a shiver of anticipation to escape down his spine. The leaves shook lightly in the breeze, and the sound of a native wind chime was audible even from the distance.

"Almost there," Athena murmured underneath her breath.

The day's heat dropped significantly as they walked into the shade, both of them breathing a sigh of relief. Carefully, as to not stop on any branches or waxy leaves, they made their way to the other side of the grove.

The hammock was a welcoming sight as it swayed in the wind. The wind chime hanging from the trees directly above it resonated another chorus of sound before falling still.

Zer0 held the hammock as Athena laid down on it, balancing it as her weight caused it to tip and nearly flip over a few times. Once on, he let go and clambered in beside her, watching her eyes drift shut as she rested her head on his chest and slung an arm and leg across his body.

Zer0 would not join her just yet, as much as he wanted to. Being able to doze off for a few hours with Athena in his arms, the crashing sound of waves in his ears, and the sun warming his body was tempting in most occasions. However, an itching uncertainty burned through him. After all, the day before a pack of crablings had scuttled underneath their hammock while they rested, waking him up only when one had pinched down on his hanging, sunburnt arm. The pain had caused him to flinch and fling the baby crab into the air and probably all the way on the other side of the grove. Athena, resting next to him with her back to him, surprisingly hadn't woken up by such an act, and only later learned of it after noticing the fairly shallow cut on the palm of his hand. Laughing from her aside, a tiny scar remained, and would probably be gone within a week.

The unnecessary paranoid thought of another pack coming up from the waters to sunbathe on the other side of the grove intimidated him. With his free arm, Zer0 reached under the hammock and began to dig through the sand with his fingers. Feeling something cool and hard underneath his fingertips, he sighed in relief and buried the gun again. It was a safety precaution.

He wrapped his arm around Athena's shoulders and leaned his head back, finally allowing the heat, silence, and companionship to ease him into an afternoon nap.

* * *

Zer0 groaned and felt the arms around his chest loosen as he rolled onto his back, mouth dry and skin burnt and sweaty.

"You should have worn sunblock."

Cracking an eye open against the bright, dipping sun, Athena had leaned up on one elbow and now loomed over him, fingertips brushing his jaw and neck.

"My apologies." His voice was hoarse and dry from sleep. "I'll remember to next time."

Athena shook her head, sighed, and grinned at him, cupping his face and leaning in for a kiss. Her lips were chapped from lack of moisture, but still felt all too familiar as he pulled her closer. An unhappy whine escaped his throat as she leaned away from him and stood up.

Athena tapped his nose. "C'mon." She offered him a hand. "Let's cool off and head back. It'll get dark soon."

Zer0 nodded, closed his eyes, and stretched, feeling the knots in his back and muscles loosen. He smacked his mouth a few times to erase the yucky taste and took her hand, pulling himself up and off the hammock.

Slowly, he followed Athena to the water's edge, keeping his eyes on her and the setting sun behind her, wondering why he, out of all people on Pandora, managed to get as lucky as to have someone like her.

 **(A/N): Beta'd by CGAdam.**


	3. Pictures (2)

**Pictures**

Before Zer0 could react, Athena had tackled him onto the couch, knocking the wind out of him. As he struggled to regain his breath and nerves, she sat up and straddled him, leaning over him with eyes full of fire- which could either be a good thing or a bad thing.

"Why are you taking pictures of me while I'm asleep!?" she demanded.

He lifted a finger to motion for her to wait, still gasping for air. A second passed as he finally inhaled deeply, cringing as his chest and sides burst in pain. Clearing his throat, he asked, "Say that again, please?"

Athena rolled her eyes. "Why are you taking pictures of me while I'm asleep?"

Zer0 opened his mouth and closed it. He averted his gaze from hers and stared off at the other side of the room, refusing to answer her. From the corner of his eye, he noticed her eyebrows furrow and the flame in her eyes glow brighter. She opened her mouth to say something, but stopped, a devious grin replacing it.

"Zer0..." she cooed, slipping her fingertips just barely underneath his shirt. He looked back in surprise. "Tell me or else."

He gulped.

* * *

Zer0 laid there, chest heaving up and down. Her hands gently massaged his sides, no longer assaulting him with merciless tickling. She still loomed over him, straddling his lap as she held him in place.

"Will you tell me now?" she asked, hands moving to his stomach to continue her onslaught if he so boldly declined.

He lifted his head. "You're cute when you fall asleep."

His head hit the couch again, but not before he saw her face lighten up in pink.

* * *

 **Picture Frame**

The picture frame shattered.

Muttering curses under his breath, Zer0 leaned down and began to pick up the glass shards. The picture of an unhappy Athena standing beside her band of "friends" while working for Jack stared up at him, perfectly mimicking how she would act if she had walked into the bedroom now and saw him.

He pulled the wastebasket out and dumped his handful of glass inside. A few more repetitive trips, the floor was clean, and he got away with only one cut on the palm of his hand.

Zer0 picked up the picture from the frame and raised an eyebrow at the folded up, white note hidden behind it. Athena and he were not known to keep things secret and hidden from each other.

Curiosity got the better of him. He sat the picture on the nightstand, picked up the note, and unfolded it. A short snort of surprise escaped as he viewed yet another picture, this time of a visibly younger Athena. A sword clung to her back, a helmet was held against her side, and gleeful, adoring a smile lit up her face. He couldn't quite remember a time before establishing a relationship with her that he had seen her so happy.

The creaking of the third step on the stairs went unnoticed by him. As did the opening of the bedroom door.

A hand grasped his shoulder and slid down to his chest as Athena leaned over and against his back, observing the picture of her with much less curiosity than he.

"When was it taken?" Zer0 finally asked.

Her hand reached out and grabbed the picture, slipping it out of his fingers as she held it up. She stayed silent for a few minutes, twisting and turning it every which way and angle.

"A few days before I defected."

He nodded and watched as she folded it up and set it on the nightstand next to the other one. She got up off him and picked up the frame from the floor.

An insistent thought crept up on his mind. "Who took the picture, and why?" He looked up at her. "Atlas wouldn't have."

She stopped mid-step from the door and he felt the tension in the air. It sent an unease through him as she didn't answer.

"Jess took it to remember me in case I ever left."

Athena walked over to the door, and went downstairs, presumably to find a new pane of glass for the picture frame.

 **(A/N): Beta'd by CGAdam.**


	4. Heartbeat

It hadn't been an easy night of sleep for her.

Pulling the covers up to her neck in an attempt to stop from shivering, Athena bitterly cursed the unusually cold nights of Pandora. Only a planet as unforgiving as this one would have blistering hot days and unfathomably cold nights.

Even though the hot arms of her lover were comforting around her, she still felt the unbearable chill in her fingers, toes, and nose. Leaning forward, she firmly pressed the tip of her nose against his bare chest, cautious that any movement might awaken him. A sleepy mumble from him caused her to pull away slightly, realizing that the effect of her cold skin against his would most likely awake him, and that wasn't her intention.

Pausing for a few moments, she heard his breathing slow back into a pace that indicated his return to slumber. At least he was receiving sleep this night.

Fingertips and toes still burned from the wintery temperature until they ached uncontrollably. Gritting her teeth, she slowly slipped her legs out from on top and between his and pulled them up to the chest. It was an ineffective strategy that wouldn't help warm her, but it was an instinctive one that she could not help commit.

Hands slowly slid across smooth, hot skin, fingertips trailing the shallow valleys in between his ribs. They paused once they reached his sternum, as she was careful to not nearly awaken him again. Attentively, she slid the palm of her hand across his chest and to the left. She sighed and smiled as she felt the quick beat of his heart.

Even with his slow breathing and state of sleep Zer0 still attained an irregularly fast heartbeat.

Craning her head forward, she moved her hand aside and rested her forehead against his heartbeat, almost longing to press the side of her head against his chest and allow the quick beating to try and lull her back into slumber. However, the want to not awaken her sleeping lover paused these actions, instead content with just feeling it instead of listening.

The arms around her tightened slightly, and she closed her eyes and exhaled.

"What's wrong, Athena?"

"Didn't mean to wake you," she apologized, leaning back so that she could look up into his tired eyes.

"I'm fine, but what about you?" he asked. "Why are you awake?"

Counting the number of syllables, she internally rolled her eyes. Of course he would _still_ be able to recite a haiku, even in his state of being half-awake.

"I'm fine."

Zer0 raised his eyebrows at her answer. Lifting a hand off her back, he ran a thumb over her cheekbone. "You're cold."

Athena nodded, coming to the conclusion that she wouldn't be able to convince him that she would be okay. Zer0 smirked at her behavior and pulled her close against his chest, obviously ignoring the feeling of her cold face and hands. She smiled and sighed into his chest, already feeling the warmth of his body mixing with hers.

"You could have told me," he whispered into her hair. "I wouldn't have minded much."

"I didn't want to wake you up," she mumbled into his skin. "You need your sleep."

"I wouldn't have cared," he reminded her, just like he did any other time her stubbornness left her with a night without sleep.

Despite her limited movements now with Zer0's arms locked around her body in a tight grip, she managed to turn her head to the side, seeking out the relaxing beat of his heart. Locating it almost instantly, she smiled and closed her eyes, allowing it to soothe her to sleep.

 **(A/N): Thank you for reading. Beta'd by CGAdam.**


	5. Thanatos's Sleep

Athena brushed her fingertips over the barely exposed scaly hide of Thanatos.

The infant stalker fidgeted slightly under the cloth of her scarf, leading her to immediately pause, fearing that she awoken the newborn. A moment passed and the creature stopped jostling. Breathing a sigh of relief, she took the edges of her scarf and covered his scales, placing the palm of her hand over the area to warm them.

"You're a good mother," Zer0 whispered into her hair, teasing her. "Taking care of the infant. Keeping him comfy."

A smile appeared on her face. "If I'm the mother, would that make you the father?"

"Logically? Yes," he answered. "As unreal as that may sound." He unwrapped an arm around her waist and reached out, hand resting itself over her own. "I am the father."

"Our little Thanatos," she murmured merrily.

"Gaige calls him 'Thany'."

"And Axton calls him 'The Little Invisible Asshole'."

"He tried to bite his nose off," Zer0 pointed out. "Almost had it, too."

A chuckle escaped her throat, remembering the hilarity of the situation as the ex-Dahl Commando attempted to rip Thanatos off his nose. It wasn't until Zer0 had stuck his fingers into the sides of Thanatos's mouth did the little creature unhinge his little teeth from Axton. In all, he had to have a dozen stitches and a large bandage that nearly covered the whole center of his face to try and repair the damage.

"Well, he is our little _death-dealer_ ," Athena reminded.

Zer0 hummed in agreement, hand clenching Athena's, fingers entwining until they comfortably settled between the spaces of her own.

"His name is fitting/ Termed after the God of Death/ Always merciless."

"The son of the Night and the Darkness, and twin brother of Hypnos," Athena recounted, quietly so as not to awaken the currently sleeping stalker. "He was without mercy and discrimination, and this led to both the mortals and the Gods to hate him."

"Both Gods and mortals?" Zer0 mused, eyebrows raising at this knowledge. Shaking his head in confusion, he said, "Greek mythology is weird."

Athena nodded. "I had to study, learn, and memorize it for almost 16 years of my life. You haven't seen the weird stuff."

"Give an example."

"Prometheus, a Titan, brought fire to mankind and Zeus chained him to a rock with an eagle pecking out his liver for all eternity as punishment for the act."

There was a long period of silence as Athena assumed Zer0 mulled over the information. Finally, he tightened his grip on her waist and said, "Oh."

Yawning, she said, "Yeah."

Closing her eyes, she felt Zer0 lift his head and bury his face against the crook of her neck.

"You'll watch him?" She mumbled slowly and tiredly.

"Yes."

"Wake me up if he starts causing you any trouble."

Athena felt him smile against her skin. "I won't."

 **(A/N): Beta'd by CGAdam.**


	6. Zer0's Kisses

" _Gaige!_ "

"What?!" Gaige proclaimed innocently, looking towards Maya with an incredulous look. "Don't tell me you don't want to know as well."

Maya looked uncertainly at the table, fiddling with the crumpled napkin in her hand. "Well…"

"Ah-HA!" Gaige raised her hand in triumph before pointing it at the Siren. "I knew it!"

"At least I don't bluntly ask about it," Maya argued, eyes narrowing.

 _Enough is enough._ Athena cleared her throat, blush creeping down the back of her neck as she sat awkwardly in the booth seat. Maya and Gaige looked at her, one with a sympathetic look and the other with an intrusive, eager expression.

"Why do you want to know?" Athena finally asked after a few seconds. "What reason do you have for wanting to know why…" She felt her cheeks heat up even more. "What it's like to _kiss_ Zer0?"

Gaige leaned back in her seat, devious smile on her face. "Because it's fun seeing you all flustered like this."

Maya glared at Gaige for a second before returning her gaze back towards Athena's, eyes brimming with sympathy. "Plus, if you think about it, it's better than talking about what we normally talk about."

"And that is…?"

"Guns, missions, and movies," Gaige interjected before Maya could respond.

Athena shuffled in her sheet, tapping her fingers against the hardwood table. She bit her lip and gnawed on it insistently. Inhaling deeply, she looked around the building. There were drunk patrons at the bar counter, desperately trying to get another bottle from Moxxi, gamblers at the slot machines trying to win the jackpot, and people mingling at the other tables, chatting.

"It's nice," Athena said as she turned back to the table's other two occupants. "Zer0 is a, uh… better kisser than I thought he would be."

Gaige leaned forward, gesturing with her hand for Athena to continue. "Aaaand?"

"What more do you want?"

"Well, I mean what's he like? Are his lips soft? Rough? Does he kiss slowly or quickly?" Gaige raised an eyebrow cheekily. "Is he bite-y? Does he lick your li-"

" _Gaige!_ " Maya chastised her once more.

"What?!" Gaige yells again, raising her hands up in mock defense towards the older woman. "I'm just askin'!"

"What kind of questions are those? ' _Is he bite-y?_ '? ' _Are his lips soft?_ '?"

"I'm just askin' what every other girl at my school used to ask." Gaige smiled. "I didn't even get to the _juicy_ questions!"

"I don't think I want to know what the 'juicy' questions are," Athena admitted, forcing herself to not stutter.

"But those are the best ones," Gaige whined.

"No."

Gaige huffed and looked off to the side in fake anger. "You bore." She glanced back towards Athena. "Are you at least going to answer the questions?"

Athena rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly. "U-um…"

"Gaige, don't force her if she doesn't want to answer," Maya said.

"I'm just curious," the redhead argued.

"You're being very intrusive to her personal life."

"Yeah, wel-"

"I'm right here, guys," Athena interrupted.

The two looked away from each other and back towards the woman sitting across from them.

"Yeah, sorry about that. We tend to get a little carried away," Gaige apologized.

"It's fi-"

Before Athena could continue, the sound of her ECHO device beeping caught her attention. She unclipped it from her belt and turned it on, looking through the messages. Her eyes narrowed and jaw hardened as she turned it off and sighed, running a hand through her hair. "Sorry, guys. I gotta go." Athena reached into her back pocket and placed a twenty dollar bill on the table. "Duty calls."

"We understand," Maya said, nodding.

Athena smiled at them before making her way out of the booth. Before she made her way to the door, she stopped and turned around.

"Zer0's lips are soft and warm."

She quickly walked away before they noticed the quickly forming blush on her face. As soon as she got outside, she breathed a sigh of relief and looked down at her ECHO device.

"Thank you, Z."

She heard the deep chuckle on the other end of the call, and smiled in anticipation. _Yeah, a_ very _good kisser._

 **(A/N): Happy New Year! I should have said this before, but if you'd like to request a short story, go ahead and send me it. I'll try the best I can with the idea/s given! Beta'd by CGAdam. Thanks for reading!**


	7. Consequence

"How mad's the wife now, Z?" Axton joked as he slid into the bar stool next to his friend.

A flickering ':(' appeared on his faceplate. "I slept on the couch."

Axton was taken aback. Zer0? Being forced to sleep on the couch? Unheard of! "What'dja do this time?" He knocked on the bar to signal Moxxi. "Lock that invisible baby asshole out of the house again?"

Zer0 shook his head and stared down at the counter. "Much more horrible than that."

Axton rubbed his chin in thought. He only stopped when a finger tapped him on the shoulder and Moxxi was in his view. She gave him a smile and wink and asked, "What can I get for you, sugar?"

"Lager, ma'am."

"Comin' right up for ya."

She walked away to the other side of the bar and returned a moment later with a small bottle in hand, liquid sloshing around behind the opaque glass.

"Anything else, sugar?" she asked as she set down the bottle.

"Not right now." Axton smiled. "Thanks."

Moxxi nodded and walked away, leaving him and Zer0 alone. Turning back towards his friend, he noticed a pronounced slump in his shoulders.

"Alright, Z. For real," Axton said. "What did you do?"

"They were accidents," Zer0 practically whined. "I didn't mean to!"

"Didn't mean to what?" Axton asked. "C'mon, Z. You gotta tell me more than that."

There was a few seconds of pause as Zer0 seemed to mull over his words. "I... stole all of 'Thena's kills..."

Axton flinched and covered his mouth. Sympathetically, he reached over and awkwardly patted his friend's back. "Another lager, Moxxi!"

 **(A/N): You can still send requests in if you'd like. Beta'd by CGAdam.**


	8. Post Honeymoon

The first thing Athena noticed upon Fast Traveling into Sanctuary was the immediate lack of suffocating humidity in the air. The cool wind of the Highlands swept over her, bringing sweet release to the days old sunburn on her face and arms. She inhaled deeply, savoring the familiar cold rush in her lungs before exhaling slowly. A hand grasped her shoulder and she looked up to see Zer0 with a smiley face illuminating the front of his face plate, mirroring her own feelings about returning to the flying city after their two week honeymoon at Wam Bam Island.

"As relaxing as that was," she said, reaching up to entwine their fingers, "it feels really good to be home."

His hand squeezed hers, showing that he agreed with her statement. For a moment, it stayed there, tightening her fingers between his own, before slinking its way down her wrist and over her forearm, tracing the fresh, dark red '0' that took its place over the omega of her reinked owl tattoo. She never did quite understand why Zer0 was so captivated by the new addition to her tattoo, as he had his own on his left arm, but didn't question it.

His fingers paused. "Shall we return home?"

Athena looked out the window and noticed the dark purple color of the sky, indicating that night was just at the brink of falling upon the Highlands. It did help explain the lack of civilians walking past Pierce Station, something she hadn't noticed until this moment.

"Yeah," she agreed and turned to him, "Than's probably wondering where we are."

"We mustn't let him worry." She heard the smile in his voice.

Athena grabbed Zer0's hand and walked out of Pierce Station, towards the center of town. The massive pillar cast a large shadow over the two of them as they strolled counterclockwise around it. As they passed the bounty board, they broke off from the railing surrounding the pillar and walked down the steps. Booming music emanated from Moxxi's Bar as they drew closer, drowning out of the sounds of insect chirping from the previous area.

Athena reached into her front pocket and fished around for her apartment key, feeling a random assortment of junk and other bits of garbage that she hadn't gotten around to tossing away just yet; empty shotgun shells, balled up paper, bottle caps, and other random rubbish. Letting go of Zer0's hand, she stopped in the middle of the street, and reached into her other pocket, desperation mixed in with irritation causing her to slowly grow more and more frustrated at not being able to find the key.

"Remind me again why you didn't bring your apartment key," she grumbled, not hiding the irritation present in her voice.

"You had yours on you," Zer0 answered, rubbing the back of his neck.

She gritted her teeth. "Well, next time we're bo-"

"There ya two are!" A familiar voice yelled, causing Athena to stop and look towards the wide entrance of Moxxi's Bar in confusion and interest.

Axton stood leaning against the doorway, bottle of Rakk-Ale in his hands and dopey smile on his face. "I've been wonderin' when y'all'd get back."

Axton was _definitely_ drunk.

"The note said two weeks," Zer0 called out, not budging from his spot. Athena could see from his rigid, concrete stance he didn't want to have this conversation right now.

"Two weeks's too long," Axton said, words slurred together from the alcohol in his system. "C'mon! Aren'tcha gonna let the others know you're back?"

Athena bit her cheek and stared at Axton, hearing Zer0 sigh deeply behind her. She didn't have to see his body language to know his current annoyance at the situation. For a moment, she considered giving him mercy and telling Axton her answer, but before she could, a finger poked her side and she turned around to see Zer0 looking down at her. It felt like she could feel and see his pleading eyes behind his mask on her, begging her to get Axton to walk back inside the bar. She felt like giving him relief, but…

Her answer was a shrug.

Zer0 sighed and turned towards Axton, who still leaned against the bar's doorway, chugging the contents of the bottle in his hand. "We'll visit for a minute. We can't stay for long."

Axton dropped his arm to his side and wiped his mouth with his arm, beaming at them. "Well, c'mon in!" He motioned to the entrance of the bar. "I'll let the others know you're comin'."

Finished, he turned around and walked back inside the dimly lit bar, his silhouette bumping against something, probably a table, pausing, and continuing on as if nothing had happened.

Athena dared a glance up at her husband, noticing his blank face plate and rigid posture. From that alone, she could tell that he wasn't excited about the delay on their return home, and that thoughts were churning in his head. She reached out and grasped his upper arm, squeezing it reassuringly.

"You think out loud, you know?" she murmured.

His body relaxed and he reached up and took her hand in his, rubbing her thumb with his own as he sighed. "You say that often."

"Well," she began, "It's not a difficult thing to say when your body speaks for you."

He glanced at her and a ';)' flashed upon his face plate for a moment before disappearing. With his free hand, he cupped her cheek and caressed her cheekbone with his bone, gloves warm from his hot skin underneath.

"I'll keep that in mind, my _wife_ ," he whispered to her. A shiver passed through her spine as those words left his lips.

They stayed like that for a minute, savoring the short time they would have with each other before having to greet their friends. Athena felt a tad bit intimidated at the idea. Things had changed between her and Zer0 permanently; things that the others didn't know about, and hopefully it would stay that while for a while. Just until her and Zer0 had gotten back into their daily routine.

Zer0's thumb slowed to a halt and he slipped his hand off her cheek, resting it on top of her shoulder. Athena knew he was looking into her eyes intently, even with his mask on concealing his face. She always knew.

"Shall we go greet them?" he asked her.

"Yeah, let's go."

Athena took the lead while Zer0 walked behind her, keeping on her heels and looking over her head. The bar was dark when they walked inside, only lit by a few bulbs stapled to the wall or hanging from the ceiling. Besides the music and the obvious sounds of their friends on the other side of the room, it was strangely quiet. There was no one at the slot machines, no one playing darts, and no one making drunk conversation. Her pace slowed as she scanned the room, noticing a few passed out patrons occupying tables and seats. Moxxi wasn't in her normal spot at the front of the bar to greet anyone who came in, eager to drink their depressions away, but she heard the voice of the sultry woman mingling with their friends.

Athena reached behind her and grabbed Zer0's hand, leading him past the unlucky people who had fallen out of their seats and the empty bottles that littered the floor. The voices of their friends grew louder and more distinguishable. She could recognize each individual person now: Gaige, Salvador, Maya, Axton, Moxxi, and Timothy. They were sitting near the bar's radio, talking joyfully and loudly about something she couldn't quite pinpoint over the sounds of their laughter and yells.

Turning the corner, she immediately stopped and Zer0 bumped into her, not expecting her sudden halt. Already she felt a pit of regret bubbling in her stomach as she counted the number of alcohol bottles discarded in a large bin beside the round table where their friends sat, nearly spilling over the side from the numerous amounts. Zer0 seemed to feel the same as her, as he let out a mixture of a sigh and groan from behind her, his chest rumbling through his suit.

Before they had a chance to say anything to their unaware companions, Axton turned his attention from Salvador to them and smiled, waving cheerfully at them. "There they are!"

The others turned to look at them, smiling. Their eyes brimmed with a carefree happiness that Athena knew only came from being drunk. However, the inquisitive eyes of a certain doppelgänger and Siren didn't go unnoticed by her, letting her internally sigh in relief at the knowledge that not all their friends were drunk out of their wits that night.

Gaige patted two seats next to her. "You guys gonna sit down?"

Her voice wasn't as slurred and jumbled as Axton's was, giving Athena the indication that she wasn't as plastered as the older military man. Letting go of Zer0's hand, she walked over and sat down next to the redhead, Zer0 following closely after her and sitting down next to her. Under the table, he slipped his hand back into hers and squeezed it tightly.

Salvador slid an opened bottle of Rakk-Ale across to the table to her, which she grabbed before it could fall off.

" _¿Amigos, donde han sido ustedes dos?_ " he asked in Spanish.

Athena could see a red glow light up from the corner of her eye, most likely Zer0 flashing a question mark on his face as he wasn't able to translate what Salvador had just said. However, she was able to, and said, "We've been out."

"Out?" Salvador said, as if he couldn't believe her answer. "C'mon, _chica_ , there's gotta be more to it than that!"

"Yeah, guys," Axton agreed, "what were y'all up to while y'all were gone?"

"Hunting in Aegrus," Zer0 answered before she could speak.

She gave his hand a reassuring squeeze under the table, which he returned.

"Hunting?" Gaige belted out beside her as if she couldn't believe what she had heard. "An' you didn' invite us?" Her voice carried a hurt tone. "What're we? Chopped liver?"

"Sorry," Athena muttered half heartedly. "It was a private trip."

"Oh." Gaige looked down at the table before nodding. "I guess that makes sense."

Axton didn't look as content as her, though, but he didn't say anything about it. Taking a sip from his bottle, he asked, "Didja get any good catches?"

"A few boroks, but that's it," Zer0 answered unhappily, a frowny face taking up his face plate for a few seconds.

"Y'see, that's why we should've been there." Axton set his drink down. "We coulda got a lot more critters."

"You obviously didn't listen before." Athena could feel herself becoming more and more angry with each word. "It was a private trip. Just Zer0 and me. No one else."

"I heardja, I heardja." Axton put his arms up in a defensive manner. "I'm jus' pointin' the facts ou'."

She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, counting to ten to dispel her anger. She opened her eyes and glared at him, watching as he caught her gaze and began to uncomfortably shuffle in his shirt under her scrutinizing eyes.

"Sounds like you two had a _fun_ time all by yourselves," Moxxi teased, catching her attention.

"Well, they must've," Gaige said beside her before she had the opportunity to speak. "Or else 'Thena might notta got her tat' changed."

Athena cursed under her breath and hid her arm under the table as multiple pairs of eyes attempted to look at the change in her tattoo. There was a particular buzz at the table now about it, something that she internally groaned at.

"Ya got yer tat' changed?" Axton asked, raising an eyebrow.

"N-"

"Mhm, she did!" Gaige interrupted her before she could finish. Athena gave the redhead a side glare as the young woman smiled at her innocently, eyes gleaming in mischief and excitement. Maybe Gaige wasn't as drunk as she had original thought. "Got a big ol' red rectangle now where that oh-meh-whatever-thingy was."

"Oh, really?" Maya spoke for the first time since Athena and Zer0 had arrived, curious look in her eyes and interested tone in her voice.

"Ye-up." Gaige popped the 'p'.

"Ya gon' share, _chica_?" Salvador asked Athena.

"No, I'm not." Athena gritted her teeth. "It's not important for you all to know."

"Oh, come on!" Axton groaned, rolling his eyes. "We jus' wanna know! There's not much harm to it!"

She shook her head. "No."

"C'mon, no secrets at this table," he pressed.

"No."

Zer0 gave her hand a squeeze under the table and she covered his hand with her now free one. She knew he could tell she was becoming more and more annoyed at the situation and herself for making such a careless mistake. Leaving her tattooed arm out in the open was an idiotic move on her part, and she found herself wishing this evening could restart so she didn't much such a stupid action. However, she couldn't, and she had to deal with the consequences now.

"Listen, listen," Gaige said, trying to calm the table down. "If y'all wanna know so bad, it's on Z's suit, too."

And now those consequences just became more severe.

Zer0 tried to cover the replica tattoo on her chestplate with his free hand before anyone could see, but failed to do so in time.

"'S that yer and Athena's thingies?" Axton squinted his eyes. "Symbols or whatever?"

"No," Zer0 grumbled lowly. Athena could hear the regret in his voice at deciding to add her owl to the zero on chestplate. It wasn't helping their situation right now.

"Really? 'Cause I'm p _rrrrr_ etty sure it is." Axton smirked.

"No, it is not," Zer0 reiterated.

"Then why'dja change it, _amigo_?" Salvador leaned on the table, elbows bent so he could rest his head on his fists.

"I didn-"

" _Oh my God!_ " Moxxi began to laugh. " _You two got_ hitched _!_ "

There was a brief period of silence that fell over the table, only broken up by Moxxi's drunken, snorting laughter. Athena could feel the tension in the air as everyone processed what the bartender had just yelled out loud. She could see the information being processed through the eyes of a few of their friends, slowly, but surely coming to the reality of the situation. The first to act was Timothy, who grabbed the sides of his head and stared down at the table, eyes wide and mouth hanging open, as if he couldn't contemplate what he had just been told.

"You two got _married_?!" he nearly shouted. His already cracked voice sounded even more broken than normal.

"I-"

"I can answer that for ya, sugar," Moxxi interjected. "See, it's not very common, but some couples get tattoos when they get married because it's a lot easier than rings." She turned away from Timothy and looked at the two of them from across the table. "You two were on your honeymoon, huh?"

Athena didn't answer right away, and instead turned to look up at Zer0. His hand was still trying to cover the symbol on his chestplate, but now he was rigid and blank. She felt his eyes on her, expecting her to try and come up with an excuse to get them out of their current predicament. They hadn't wanted their friends to know so soon they had gotten married. Searching for an answer in her mind, she couldn't find one, so she gave him the only answer she knew: a deep, heavy sigh of defeat. He did the same and dropped his hand to the table.

"Yeah," she answered, looking back at Moxxi, "yeah, we were on our honeymoon."

The older woman smirked in victory, looking smug and pleased with herself.

"Huh," Axton said, sloshing the drink around in the bottle. He lifted it to his lips, took a sip, smiled wickedly at them, and said, "Guess ya couldn't keep your sword outta her sheath, huh, Z?"

Salvador burst out in roaring laughter, banging his hand on the table. Athena felt the heat rising quickly to her face as she pulled her scarf over her head in a makeshift hood, trying to cover her reddening face. From the corner of her eye, she could see a '/' light up in front of his face plate, showing his own embarrassment. She scanned the rest of the table, eyes halting on Maya's as she saw the sympathy in them. The Siren mouthed a 'Congrats' to her and angrily looked at Salvador as he leaned on her, breathing heavily from laughing so hard.

"Oh, _amigo_ ," Salvador heaved, clapping his hand on Axton's soldier to get his attention.

"Yeah, Sal?"

"Would that mea-" he cut himself off as he snorted back a laughter, covering his mouth with his hand for a moment before continuing on. "Would that mean his _chica_ managed to digistruct his sword?"

Axton looked blankly at him for a moment before leaning over the table in a heaving laughter, coughing and struggling to breathe. Though she thought it was impossible, Athena felt the heat burn in her face. She pulled the edges of her scarf around her mouth, got up from her seat, and walked away from the table, ignoring Axton and Salvador's hollering behind her. She had enough of their obnoxious teasing.

There were footsteps behind her and a hand grabbed her left wrist, pulling it away from her face. For a moment, she considered rounding about and popping whoever was trying to stop her in the face, but she stopped as she felt the familiar leather of the four-fingered gloves rub soft circles into the back of her hand, reassuring and shy.

"Oh, c'mon, _chica_!" Salvador called as they made their way out of the bar. "'Was only _la broma_!"

"Yeah, c'mon guys!" Gaige yelled as well, but the two of them ignored their pleas and exited the bar through the front entrance.

They made their way down the stairs and towards the end of the street, stopping as they reached their apartment door. Athena fumbled for her key for a minute before she finally found it in her left back pocket, tucked under a few shotgun shells she always kept on hand. She released Zer0's hand, ran it through her hair, and pulled her hood down. Within a moment, the door was unlocked and they walked inside their dark apartment, the sound of skittering claws on the concrete floor bringing both of their attentions back in reality.

Thanatos screeched as he rounded the corner and jumped on top of the couch, perched on the quilt and eagerly awaiting for one of them to approach him so he could tackle them. Zer0 quietly made his way over, removing his helmet swiftly and throwing it on the table, as Athena locked the door and breathed a sigh of relief.

The _THUMP!_ that reverberated throughout the apartment brought her attention to what was happening behind her, and she smiled as she saw Thanatos ecstatically rubbing his face all over Zer0's as they laid on the floor, the small stalker pinning him to the ground by sitting on his chest.

"That could have gone better," Athena murmured as she kicked her boots her and walked over to sit behind her husband, running a hand through his soft hair and her thumb over his lips.

His eyes were distant as he stared up at the ceiling, lost in his thoughts. She continued to run her fingers across his face, feeling his surprisingly hot skin- hotter than normal. He didn't have the ability to blush, but she knew he was still embarrassed by the heat of his face. She laid down next to him, letting Thanatos have a turn at rubbing all over her. The small stalker practically squealed in excitement as his "Mama" laid down next to his "Papa". He jumped on Athena's chest and began to rub her face with his before suddenly sitting up. He began sniffing the air and turned his head towards her right forearm, nudging at it with the tip of his nose. She lifted it and allowed him to gaze upon the new addition of her tattoo, his eyes curious as he sniffed the edges of the red, rectangular '0' that had been inked there only two weeks ago.

"Good thing Than isn't overreacting," Athena mused.

Zer0 chuckled and turned on his side to look at the stalker, eyes no longer clouded by thought. "The best thing today."

She smiled in agreement.

 **(A/N): Thanks for reading. Beta'd by CGAdam.**


	9. Flirting & Dinner (2)

**Flirting**

"I like your… hair."

The words befuddled Athena enough to look up from her book and stare at Zer0 from across the table. That same adorable, lovable lopsided grin was plastered on his face. What tipped her off, however, was his eyes. They refused to look at her own, focusing instead on the circles he was tracing over the table's wood. An eyebrow raised and a small smile formed on her face as she closed the book. "Thank you. I like your…" she paused, unable to find the proper item on him to compliment. "Teeth."

Athena mentally smacked herself on the forehead.

Zer0 looked up at her and the grin turned into a smirk for a second. "Yeah? I like your eyes."

"I like your ears."

True, but not the best thing to confess to liking.

"I really enjoy your lips."

It took a moment to sink in, but she finally rolled her eyes, opened her book, and looked down on the pages. "Well, you can have them after you stop throwing up."

What he grumbled was almost inaudible, but she could just barely make out the words "food poisoning" and "unfair".

* * *

 **Dinner**

Athena looked down at the black rock on her plate, confused. She picked it up and looked across the table and towards Zer0. "Uh… what is this?"

"It's tonight's dinner." A proud smile formed on his face.

"This is…" she trailed off for a few moments as she rolled 'dinner' around in the palm of her hand. "This is dinner?"

He nodded and picked up his own plate, full of the same hard, black 'rocks'.

Athena watched him for a few more seconds, then proceeded to drop the rock onto the plate.

"Pizza is on the top shelf," Zer0 called out as she passed him and into the kitchen.

 **(A/N): A reminder that one can give suggestions for any short story they'd like written. Simply drop a message in my inbox. Anyways, thank you for reading and this was beta'd by CGAdam.**


	10. The Case of the Missing Scarf

Zer0 rapped his knuckles on the kitchen table, bouncing his knee up and down and looking at the concrete wall of the apartment with disinterest and boredom. Thanatos lay curled in his lap, tail over his head and small snores occasionally escaping the tiny stalker. Out of habit, Zer0 reached over, picked up his ECHO and checked the time, grimacing at the late hour. He knew it was most likely ridiculous to worry, but his feelings and instincts overruled his common sense.

Athena had gone out on a job with Aurelia that morning and still hadn't returned. He knew Aurelia had probably forgotten to mention the job would take more than a day's time, but the deep pit of worry and anxiety in his stomach made the worst possible outcomes pop up in his mind, filling his head with unsettling images.

He sighed, set his ECHO back down on the table, and rubbed the exhaustion from his eyes. His stubbornness was the only thing keeping him awake until Athena walked through their apartment door, tired but smiling that smile she has when a job was completed. Thanatos had attempted to join his 'papa' on his vigil, but had fallen asleep within an hour. Zer0 couldn't blame the poor stalker for giving into the alluring depths of slumber; he himself felt the temptation lingering at the edges of his thoughts and movements. He sat up in his chair and _stretched_ his arms upwards, groaning with each satisfying _stretch_ of muscle.

"What do you think, Than?" Zer0 mumbled to the sleeping stalker, reaching down to scratch the back of his neck. A long, deep exhale of air was the response he received as Thanatos curled himself into a tighter ball.

Zer0 smiled and placed his warm palm against Thanatos's back, feeling the rise and fall of each breath. He reached out and checked the clock on his ECHO once more, closing his eyes and sighing. The hour was only growing later, and there was _still_ no sign Athena was coming home that night. Clenching the device tightly in his fingers, he brought it forward and placed it against his forehead, exhaling at the cold relief the metal gave to his slowly intensifying headache.

"Where could she be, Thanatos?" he mused again towards the sleeping stalker.

At the sound of his name, Thanatos lifted a paw off his face and cracked open an eye, looking up at Zer0 with lazy curiosity. Zer0 smiled, set his ECHO on the table, and reached down to scratch the back of Thanatos's neck, receiving a satisfied coo in response to the action. After a minute, the small stalker sat up on his hind legs and attempted to lovingly rub his face all over Zer0's, only managing to reach as high as his 'papa's' neck and chin.

"What do you think, boy?" Zer0 quipped, bundling Thanatos up in his arms so he could finally reach the goal of his face. Thanatos's ears perked up and he cocked his head to the side, clearly confused by the question presented to him.

Zer0 let Thanatos rub himself over him for a few more minutes before he sat up in his chair and shifted the small stalker into his left arm. With his right hand, he reached out and grabbed his ECHO off the table, standing up the next second and making his way into the living room. Instead of dropping Thanatos off on the couch like he normally did, he made his way into the bedroom and set Than down on the bed, turning his back on the stalker's curious gaze. He walked over to the dresser on the other side of the room and set his ECHO on top of it, not bothering to check the hour for the umpteenth time that night. As he was about to turn around and return to the bed, something out of the corner of his eye caught his attention.

It was the faceplate of his suit, reflecting a dull purple off its glass surface from the shine of Elpis. The scratches, scrapes, and dents imbedded in the mask appeared unusually indiscernible in the room's dark light and the concealing cloudy black glass. Zer0 reached out and picked up his helmet with both hands, running his thumb over a few of the shallow gashes made into the glass over its lifetime.

A whimper from behind him brought his attention back to reality. He looked over his shoulder to see Thanatos standing on his hind legs, trying to peek over his shoulder to see what Zer0 was gazing. He blinked, walked over to the bed, and sat down, letting Than take his time to sniff and inspect the helmet. As he watched the stalker, Zer0 chewed the inside of his cheeks, looked up, and turned his gaze towards the dresser, finding the rest of his body armor laying on the floor beside it and his belt on top of it.

 _I might as well go. It might relieve my worry._

He set his mask down on the mattress and walked over to the dresser, stripping himself of his clothes and reaching down to grab his suit's pants. They were easy to pull on and zip up, as was putting on his chest piece and managing to zip it up as well, but not without a few minutes of struggling. He sat down on the floor and pulled his boots on, wriggling his toes in the leather for a few seconds to get a feel for them. Afterwards, he stood back up and grabbed his belt, which already had his shield and grenade mod attached to it. Grabbing his ECHO, he clipped it on and made his way back to the bed, making a note Thanatos seemed a bit more confused than before as he sat down and grabbed his helmet.

Before putting it on, Zer0 scratched the top of Thanatos's head and said, "I'll be back later." He pulled the mask over his head and waited a few seconds for his HUD display to come online. "Don't burn the house down, okay?"

Thanatos screeched in agreement.

* * *

" _Knock, knock!" a shrill voice called. Another knock on the apartment door the next second emphasized their desire for a response._

 _Zer0 tried to grab Thanatos before he could leap out of his lap, but to no avail. The small stalker jumped onto the floor and scampered over to the front door, screeching and slapping the floor with his broadleaf tail the entire way. Reaching across the kitchen table, Zer0 grabbed his ECHO and turned up the sonic frequency on it. He watched in relief as Thanatos grew less and less rowdy until he was eventually sitting in front of the door, patiently waiting for someone to open it._

" _We aren't expecting visitors, are we?"_

 _Zer0 looked over his shoulder to see Athena buckling her belt, confused and slightly irritated._

" _Not that I know of," he answered._

" _Heellooo? Darlings, I know you're home!"_

 _Athena looked at the door, irritation intensifying on her face, before she turned back towards him. "And we definitely aren't expecting Aurelia, right?"_

 _He shook his head and set the barrel of his sniper rifle down on the table, making his way over to the apartment's front door. Scooting Thanatos aside with his foot, he unlocked the door and open it slightly. He soon regretted the decision; a gloved hand push the door ajar and Aurelia paraded in, radiating smugness and superiority as she looked around the kitchen._

" _Ah, darling!" Aurelia beamed, her eyes locking onto Athena._

 _From the corner of his eye, Zer0 noticed a grimace on Athena's face as he quickly shut the door behind the Baroness._

" _What are you doing here, Aurelia?" Athena asked through gritted teeth._

 _"Skipping all the details and going straight to the point, are we, Athena?" the older woman teased before clearing her throat. "I'd like you to accompany on a hunting trip. I've heard tales of a giant Spiderant in The Dust, and would oh so love to kill it before my brother gets a chance to hear a whisper of it."_

 _Athena looked uncertain at the offer. "How long will it take?"_

 _"Ah. Worried you won't be home to give your boyfriend an evening kiss?" A smirk appeared on her face._

 _Athena blushed, but her expression stayed stoic. "Answer the question."_

 _"Agh, darling. You're no fun to tease anymore." Aurelia looked over at Zer0. "At least I can still get a rise out of you."_

 _Zer0 frowned at her, but remained quiet. He didn't want to get in the middle of the conversation or elicit any more responses from the older woman. There wasn't a reason to deny it: Aurelia was impossibly good at embarrassing both Athena and him._

 _"If we do not manage to kill the beast by the evening, we'll return," Aurelia told Athena. "Now, darling, do we have a deal?"_

 _Athena stared at the older woman for a minute, contemplating the decision. Finally, with a sigh, she nodded and mumbled, "Deal."_

 _"Perfect!" Aurelia smiled. "Come now. Get ready and we'll be off!"_

 _Before either of them could respond, she opened the door and left without closing it. Thanatos immediately scurried over to the spot she previously stood and sniffed all around, occasionally scratching at the floor. Zer0 closed the door again and looked over at Athena, who was biting her bottom lip. Instead of questioning her, he went back to the kitchen table, sat down, and continued cleaning his sniper rifle._

 _"You know she didn't invite you, right?"_

 _"Yes, I noticed, Athena," he grumbled under his breath, eyes narrowing and teeth gritting as he tried to diminish his growing irritation and anger._

* * *

The air was frigid as Zer0 digistructed into The Dust, frost already forming on the surface of his leather suit. It only took a second to notice Ellie had already closed up shop and shuttered on garage, leaving the Catch-A-Ride station inside inaccessible. Grumbling, he made his way to the entrance of the junkyard and cloaked once the spiderants detected his presence and burst out of the ground. He hurried out of the area and towards the nearest Catch-A-Ride as the creatures looked around for the trespasser, confused and angry when they couldn't. After walking a little more ways away, he uncloaked and continued his path to the Catch-A-Ride station, kicking up sand with his feet the entire way.

Zer0 didn't much care for The Dust at night. He found the eerie silence chilling. There was no roar of a Bandit Technical's engine or Buzzard in the sky. He expected he'd meet the usual heavy resistance that came with traveling across an area of Pandora, but was on edge when he didn't. The only reason he came to The Dust was to hopefully kill any Hodunk stragglers in their trailer park. Mick offered a hefty amount of a money for anyone who killed someone from the more redneck clan, and that was exactly what he planned to do. However, the lack of sounds coming from the Hodunk's trailer park forced that temptation away. Now, finally reaching the Catch-A-Ride, the feelings only intensified.

"Probably nothing," he muttered to himself as he opened the selection screen and picked the Runner. "It's just my nerves acting up."

With the vehicle digistructed, he hopped in, started the engine, and roared out of the station the next second. Aurelia hadn't specified where she and Athena would be hunting, but there was only one place in The Dust to really go after spiderants: Bug Gulch.

The normal entrance to the valley, at the back of Ellie's Garage had been closed off for a long time, ever since a couple large, heavily armored Spiderant Knights decided they wanted to expand their nest's territory. Ellie had blocked off the entrance with a destroyed Runner and wasn't allowing anyone or thing pass in or out. However, Zer0 did know of another way into the spiderants' exceptionally large nesting grounds, and a smile formed on his face as he spotted the church tower in the distance silhouetted by the light of Elpis.

He parked the Runner next to the cliffside and hopped out, surveying the area for any signs of enemies. There wasn't an inkling of activity across the desert. It seemed all of Pandora appeared to be asleep at this moment, man, beast, and machine. Satisfied, Zer0 turned his attention back to the cliffside and, after finding the right hand and foot holds, began to scale it. Clambering over the side of the edge, he sat for a few seconds to catch his breath and massage the callouses that were beginning to form on his hands. Afterwards, he went to the next one and grabbed onto the edge of the ledge, pulling himself up and over.

The dilapidated church was in full view now, creaking and groaning with each gust of wind that hit its wooden, rotten exterior. Underneath one of the broken windows was an opened loot chest, sand filling every pocket and crevice it could get into. The offering table was cleaned of any gear that had been packed away inside, leading him to believe Athena and Aurelia had come this way. Athena always was one to check every nook and cranny for gear that could be used or sold, regardless of rarity or quality. Zer0 slipped past the church, listening intently for any sounds coming from the nearby bandit camp across from it or the surrounding spiderant nests.

The uneasy feeling swelled in his chest as he heard only the sounds of the wind rushing past him. The bandits who would normally be outside patrolling and guarding the camp were nowhere to be seen, and the spiderants who would be doing to the same to their own territory were missing. The entire cliffside was dead to the rest of Pandora, and it made him slightly uncomfortable.

With one hand on his sword's grip, he made his way down the path, keeping his gaze turned towards the dark, quiet houses at all times, expecting a surprise attack at any moment. He walked closer and closer, slower and slower, until he stood at the front door step of the first one, noticing the splash of crimson across the door and mixing in the sand. Instantly, he lifted a hand and pushed the door open, blade ready for attack.

What he saw instead were the bodies of three bandits, shot in multiple places and bleeding profusely on the floor.

A quick scan of the room revealed no one else, alive or dead. Zer0 turned around and left the house, making his way up the hill to the next one. As he opened the door, he grumbled as he found similar results: a goliath and a bruiser, hacked to pieces. A small smile managed to form on his face as he studied the cuts along the goliath's torso, surmising these two deaths were because of Athena's hands. Opening the door to the final house only cemented his hypothesis as it only contained a single bandit with a giant, gaping gash in his chest, flesh spewed everywhere across the floor and flayed from the wound on the his chest.

"Aspis and Xiphos," Zer0 mused to himself as he walked out of the house.

That answered the question of why there wasn't any activity in the area, but it didn't answer the question of where her and Aurelia were. Reaching towards his belt and taking out his ECHO, he looked into his contacts and attempted to call Athena. The chat rang for a few seconds before he heard a sound in the distance that made his blood run cold.

Sprinting to the cliffside and jumping down, he came face to face with the body of a massive black spiderant. The creature was at least twice as tall as he was, and covered in a light blue substance that he recognized to be its blood. Parts of its armor were broken away or completely shattered and its posterior was nowhere to be seen. However, there was two key items that caught his attention the most about the dead spiderant. Tied to one of its mangled legs were two ECHO devices, one blinking its light on and off and playing his call ringtone, and the other turned off.

The material used to tie the ECHOs to the spiderant's leg was Athena's bloodied, sandy scarf.

A wave of anger washed over him as he reached out and untied both ECHOs off the spiderant's leg, not caring that the limb fell over afterwards. Zer0 turned on the blinking ECHO and clenched his fist as he saw the call was coming from him. He declined it and clipped the device on his belt, lifting the other one to his face. It wasn't Aurelia's ECHO device. She always prided herself with having the best money could buy, and he knew from experience her ECHO device was crafted from pure gold, adorned with more jewels and gems than he could count. The ECHO in his hand was a plain black one, only slightly dented and scratched up from its previous owner. Curious, he turned it on and found an application was already: an audio file.

" _Hello, Mr. Zer0._ " The sinister voice emitting from the speakers sent his blood both boiling and chilling. " _We have taken something of value of yours._ " The laughter coming from the man soon broke off into a hacking cough for a few seconds. " _We demand two things from yo-_ "

" _I thought we had three._ "

" _Naw, Boss said four, not three, Rustnut._ "

" _Will you dumbasses be quiet?!_ " the bandit called 'Boss' yelled, anger and bitterness in his voice. " _I'm tryna make a ransom note-_ "

" _If ya were makin' a note, wouldn' ya need paper, Boss?_ "

" _Rustnut, shut the fuck up! The Boss says 'shut up', we shut up!_ "

" _You're one ta talk, Knucklescrapper! Why don'tchu shut it also!_ "

" _I am, but you keep fuckin' talkin'!_ "

" _CAN IT!_ " Boss yelled before his two companions could argue anymore. " _Both of you, go check on the prisoners! NOW!_ "

The sound of chairs squeaking against the floor filled the air for a few seconds, then there was silence. Zer0 could hear the Boss muttering expletives and other swears under his breath.

" _We got two demands!_ " Boss finally continued, his voice returning to its original sinister tone. " _One: we want that fancy, dancy sword ya got_." Zer0 narrowed his eyes and his hand instinctively went to grasp the handle of his sword. " _Two: we want a mill-_ BILLION _bucks. Got it? You bring us both of 'em, 'nd you get the girls. Meet us at Dahl Six. Come alone or else._ "

With that final warning, the message stopped and the ECHO shut off. Zer0 stared at the device in his hand for a few minutes before he grasped it with both hands and snapped it in half. He threw the pieces on the ground, stuffed Athena's scarf into one of his thigh pockets, and walked away, fury burning inside him.

* * *

Even with his full-body suit and mask on, the air in the Caustic Caverns was hot and humid as ever, causing the back of his neck and his palms to began to sweat. Sighing, he rubbed his palms together as he made his way over to the vending machines, trying to make the leather suck up at least a miniscule amount of the moisture, but to little avail. Opening up the "Purchase" screen, he bought as much sniper rifle ammunition as his storage deck allowed.

The Boss's words repeated over and over again in his mind.

 _We have taken something of value of yours._

Zer0 gritted his teeth together and briskly walked over to the valve that opened the door to the rest of the caverns. The moist air had caused a copious amount of rust to form on the equipment. With one enormous heave, it spun and opened the giant metal doors. The courtyard was surprisingly empty of both varkids and the large old Dahl dump trucks. On the opposite side of the courtyard, the metal doors that were usually closed to impede his way into the Dahl Deep Core 06 stood invitingly and ominously open. From his position outside the facility, he could already see the corpses of numerous varkids, all in differing stages of evolution. Wasting no time, he ran into the facility, took a left, and jumped down onto the platform below.

Just as the courtyard from the outside, the large dump truck that was usually parked on the platform wasn't present. Instead, he found more dead bodies of varkids, all riddled with bullets. Making his way past them, he jumped and landed on the ground, turning his attention to the hallway present on his left. Cautiously, he slowly made his way over, watching every step he took and listening for any sounds coming from inside the bloodied room. The light on the door was green, which meant it could be opened, but he stopped in front of it, pressing the side of his helmet against it lightly and trying to listen inside.

" _GOD DAMN!_ " Someone shouted from inside before heavy footsteps quickly made their way over to the door. Zer0 barely managed to step out of the way and cloak before the door was thrown open and a man dressed in leather and rusty metal stumbled out, coughing and hacking. Seeing this as an opportunity, he snuck past the man and made his way inside the room.

The moment he stepped in, his gaze immediately drifted towards the two women tied up in the corner of the room, one awake and the other unconscious. Aurelia had an annoyed, cross look on her face as she stared at the wall. Athena, on the other hand, was slumped forward with her head on her knees. A large spot of blood matted her hair and had dripped down her face and neck. Before Zer0 could react, the door was shut again and the man who opened it walked back inside, covering his nose.

"I though' I told ya not to fuckin' skin that thing in 'ere!" He growled under his breath, glaring at the other two men in the room who were currently looming over the corpse of a partially skinned skag, holding bloodied knives.

"C'mon, Boss. We're hungry!" one of them complained, patting his stomach. "'Aven't eaten all day!"

"An' we ain't riskin' cookin' this bad boy out there," the other said, motioning to the door which led to the Varkid Ramparts.

"When I say an order, yer supposed to follow it!" Boss yelled, his face growing red and his fists clenching.

"Don't say ya ain't hungry either," the first man piped up.

"That's beside the fuckin' point, Rustnut," Boss growled, walking over to the two men and taking one of their knives. "This shit stinks, and now we gotta deal with it 'til that fucking ninja-assassin-guy comes!"

Zer0 clenched his fists and was almost tempted to uncloak and kill the people in the room, but was stopped when another voice entered the argument.

"Ugh, are you all done _yet_?" Aurelia asked in her normal, pompous tone of voice. "I swear, you three are worse than my dear brother and I!"

Boss looked angrily over at her. "Watch it, lady. I'm not afraid to start cuttin' fingers if I have to."

"Well, darling, you can certainly try," she offered. "Though, I'm positive it would elicit a negative reaction with the man you plan on dealing with."

The angry look on Boss's face dimmed slightly, before he walked over to Aurelia, squatted down, and held the tip of the knife to her cheek. "The fuck ya know 'bout our dealer?"

Aurelia smirked. "Other than you're more stupid and pathetic than he is?" The tip of the knife sunk deeper into her cheek. "Now, now, darling. I should warn you that should _any_ damage be incurred to my companion or I, he will make certain to do far, _far_ worse to you."

Boss stared into her eyes for a few minutes before pulling the knife away and turning to look at Athena. At that moment, Zer0's eyes met Aurelia's, and he _knew_ she knew he was there, watching and waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

"Fuck," he heard Boss mutter under his breath before he turned back to the older woman. "Tell me 'bout 'im."

"Why would I do that?" Aurelia scoffed. The tip of the knife was placed back against her cheek in response. "Well, you certainly know how to be _persuasive_."

"Talk."

She rolled her eyes. "He's _absolutely_ vicious. I've seen him rip people apart limb from bloody, screaming limb! Probably the most horrific sight I've ever seen, and, let me tell you, darling, I've seen some things in my days."

Zer0 raised an eyebrow and couldn't help but smirk. _Of course_ she would embellish his skills to intimidate the man in front of her.

Even better, it appeared to be working.

"Limb from limb, eh?" Boss sounded uncertain. "Sounds more beast than man."

"'More beast than man'? Darling, do you even know what planet you live on?!" Aurelia narrowed her eyes. "They don't call this a Borderworld for nothing, you imbecile."

"Watch yer tone," he growled. "Or else that tongue of yours is goin' first."

Zer0 could see the irritation burning in Aurelia's eyes, but made no move just yet. He wanted to see how she would play this out until she was bored enough to reveal his position.

"We have no manners, it seems," she mused, glaring into the man's eyes.

"Ya don't learn manners in a Borderworld."

"You know what you also don't learn?" Aurelia looked over Boss's shoulder and towards Zer0, smirking and giving him the signal.

Zer0 took action immediately, withdrawing his pistol from its holster in one hand and his katana in the other. Both weapons were concealed by his cloak, though he felt sure his target wouldn't have noticed anyway by the look in his eyes and the falter in his grip on the knife. He looked around for a few seconds, trying to find what his prisoner was looking at, but failing.

"What?" Boss asked uncertainly, turning back towards Aurelia.

"You don't learn about cloaking devices, my dear."

He uncloaked and rush forward, decapitating the man before he could make a sound. On the other side of the room, the two grunts instantly sat up and began to scramble for their weapons, shouting at the loss of their leader and for their own lives. He pulled the hammer back on his Jakobs revolver and managed to shoot the full clip into both of them, leaving them as twitching corpses on the ground. Turning back to Aurelia, he first noticed the smug smile on her face.

"It took you long enough, darling," she spoke, holding her hands out for him to cut the rope.

After cutting the ropes tying her hands and feet together, Zer0 turned his attention to Athena, and squatted down to get a better look at her injuries. Grabbing her chin gently in one hand, he lifted her head and frowned at the sight. A good portion of her face was covered in dried blood, bathing her left eye in the dark red liquid from a wound just above the left side of her hairline. Her lip was split in multiple places and he saw several bruises in different sizes dotting her face, all some form of brown, black, or purple. Assessing the rest of her body, he found her knuckles were scraped and bleeding, her right wrist was broken at the very _least_ , and there were multiple lacerations along her torso and legs.

"Athena tried to fight them off, but alas," Aurelia commented as she stood up and rubbed her wrists, "they didn't fight fairly."

Zer0 didn't respond and instead cut the ropes tying Athena's ankles and wrists together. Once free, he lifted her over his shoulder gently and walked over to the ladder, grasping one rung tightly with his hand and shifting her weight with his other.

"The unconscious Gladiator and her boyfriend first?" Aurelia teased behind him.

He grunted and began the process of climbing the ladder.

* * *

Sanctuary was still quiet when he returned home, unsurprisingly. He didn't encounter any resistance or overly curious civilians on the way home, which he was unimaginably grateful for. Closing the door behind him, he locked it and breathed out a sigh of relief. Before he walked over to the couch to set Athena down, he opened the refrigerator, reached inside, and grabbed a handful of Insta-Health Vials stored within, struggling to keep them from falling out his hand and smashing on the floor.

Zer0 carefully laid Athena down on the couch, brushing her hair aside and taking a good look at the wound on her forehead. It had stopped bleeding long ago, crusting over with scabs and dirt, but it still worried him. Taking one of the Insta-Health Vials, he brought it next to the wound, and was about to inject the medicine into her when the sound of clicking interrupted him. Turning around, he wasn't surprised to see Thanatos awake and rounding the corner, groggy and looking curiously at the scene before him.

"Hello, Thanatos," Zer0 greeted the small stalker as he approached and sat up on his hind legs to sniff Athena. "I'm home and I brought someone."

The look in Thanatos's eyes brought a relieved smile to his face as he turned back to heal his girlfriend's wounds, the stress and worry easing out of his body as he set himself to work.

 **(A/N): The idea for this story was given by a friend. Beta'd by CGAdam. Thanks for reading!**


End file.
